King Charles
was due to see European Commission President Ursula
von der Leyen
in London today , to play an important role in the final leg of the highly contentious negotiations over the Northern Ireland protocol.
This was reported by Sky News, revealing a meeting - later canceled - suggested by Number 10 while after weeks of tense talks and growing anger between the Conservatives and the Tories, an agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU on the post -Brexit of Northern Ireland, which could lead to a major rebellion.
"There is no suggestion that the king would have taken part in the talks - writes Sky News - but it could have been interpreted as a blessing for the negotiations at an advanced stage, or even a total approval of the agreement".
However, the fight was canceled before Friday.
The plan for Saturday was for Von der Leyen to meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to approve the deal and to meet separately with the king.
Calling the arrangement 'the Windsor Agreement', giving it an air of royal authority, was also discussed, but the king's support was likely to be deeply controversial, with Charles risking being accused of intervening in politics even before the coronation.
The decision to organize the meeting would have been jointly agreed by Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, writes Sky News, adding that after the public revelation of the plan, British government sources said that Von der Leyen would no longer have to travel to the UK today, and that it would in any case not have been improper for the king, as head of state, to meet a visiting European leader.
No formal invitation has ever been offered, but British politicians and senior and official EU officials were aware of the event which was due to take place in Windsor this afternoon.
A source close to the negotiations says the king's involvement was definitely an attempt to sell the protocol nationwide.